A representative for Jaylen Brown denied a report that he demanded a trade from the Celtics or presented them with a list of demands. ESPN carried the denial, and Hoops Rumors, citing ESPN's Kris Rhim, says the source called the claim “10000% a lie.” Yahoo Sports gives the same figure as “10,000%.” The ESPN summary we have doesn't include the quote, so the exact wording comes from those two outlets.

The claim came from Brian Scalabrine. Yahoo describes him as a former Celtics player turned NBA analyst, and says he reported Monday that Brown demanded a trade out of Boston this past offseason. Hoops Rumors adds that the denial followed a recent back and forth, but our summary cuts off before saying what that exchange was. Awful Announcing frames the report against a rift with Jayson Tatum. It says the breakup of the two co-stars "remains unexplained," and that their recent comments have only deepened the questions. It also notes that Brown opened the offseason by saying last year was the best of his career. Its summary ends mid-sentence on Tatum having missed most of that season, so we can't say more about it. None of the reporting we have explains why Brown is now a 76er, and we won't guess.

The denial covers two things: a trade demand, and a list of demands. Nothing in the summaries says whether Brown's side disputes any other part of Scalabrine's account. Scalabrine's sourcing isn't described in what we have either.

On the court, both players are playing heavy minutes. Brown is averaging 36.8 minutes through four starts for Philadelphia, shooting 42.5% from the field (7.8-of-18.3) and making 2.0 of 4.8 threes. Tatum has played two games for Boston at 37.5 minutes, shooting 40.8% (10.0-of-24.5) with 1.5 makes on 8.5 three-point attempts per game.

The teams have already met once this season. Boston won 125-120 at Philadelphia on Oct. 16. The Sixers are 3-1 and lead the Atlantic, though they have lost their last game, 106-93 to Detroit on Sunday. Boston is 1-1 and second in the division. It beat Chicago 134-99 on Monday, after a 121-113 loss at Detroit on Oct. 20.

Boston hosts Brooklyn tonight, and Philadelphia plays at Indiana on Wednesday.